Cross the island’s jungle-cloaked heart for a culture repair in Phuket Town, the place smart cafes and next-gen cocktail bars breathe new life into the Sino-Portuguese warehouses lining its oldest streets. Close by, the quiet and craggy coastline of Cape Panwa delivers eye-popping views over the island-dotted Phang Nga Bay. We have narrowed down the lots of of locations to remain to a tight edit of our favourite Phuket hotels, in no specific order. Each hotel on this listing has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the vacation spot and has stayed at that property. When selecting motels, our editors consider both luxurious properties and boutique and lesser-identified properties that supply an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We’re all the time looking for stunning design, a great location, and warm service-as well as serious sustainability credentials. There are just a few accommodations of word on Phuket’s sunrise-facing east coast, with COMO Level Yamu being the brightest of the bunch-and in our opinion, among the finest lodges in all of Thailand.

Phuket Blues Festival

Considerably confusingly, the villas-basic Thai affairs with pointed roofs and teakwood floors-are unfold over three distinct areas: e book the grownup-solely Spa Sanctuary villas for all-you-can-spa perks, or the DoublePool villas for twin pools and heaps of house. However even the entry-degree villas at the principle address provide loads of comforts, with open-air bathtubs, walled gardens, and swimming pools long sufficient for laps. Sprawled over a lush hillside dotted with historic banyan timber and indigenous foliage, the Rosewood Phuket’s 71 elegant villas and suites really feel more like island homes than resort digs, thanks to their cozy dwelling room spaces decorated with keepsakes, fresh flowers, and espresso table books. This resort may be positioned within eyeshot of Patong Beach-the island’s rowdy epicenter-however from the second you turn up at its monogrammed entrance gates, it feels a world away. The Asaya spa is one in every of Rosewood’s greatest within the region, the place severe spa junkies ought to guide themselves into the Asaya Villa, a spacious day-use spa retreat with a personal watsu pool and Himalayan salt sauna.

All products and listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently chosen by our editors. When you purchase something by our hyperlinks, we might earn an affiliate fee. From coastal retreats to jungle hideouts, non-public beaches to private butlers, muay Thai trainers to twin swimming pools-Thailand’s largest island and longest-standing vacation hotspot has lodge choices aplenty, but selecting the correct one can be a daunting job. Phuket is blessed with greater than thirty different bays and beaches, and while they all score high marks by way of postcard prettiness, their vibes (and due to this fact, their lodge line-ups) range widely. Most of the vacation motion happens across the bays on its western coast, from the laid-again Nai Harn and Rawai beaches within the coral-fringed deep south to the seemingly limitless stretch of crowd-free sand of Mai Khao on the island’s north. In between, there’s buzzy nightlife round Patong, family fun around Kamala, and an impressed restaurant scene around the expat hub of Bang Tao.

All come with sala-covered sundecks, some with non-public swimming pools. Its Holistic Wellness Centre, the first of its form throughout the Aman group, veers manner past the standard spa trappings and affords medical companies that embody IV nutrient infusions and cryotherapy. Search for Phuket inspiration on Instagram, and you’re guaranteed to return across Keemala, a extremely photogenic lodge pitched within the Kamala rainforest on the island’s west coast. Its hillside retreats range from glamorous safari tents to two-story tree homes and come with private pools and adjoining sundecks (guide the Bird’s Nest Pool Villas if you’re after additional area). The interiors meld safari chic with jungle dwellings-teakwood partitions, stone-carved bathtubs, and fabrics in earthy tones. If you happen to manage to leave your cocoon, the nearest seashore is a 10-minute drive away, however Keemala’s expert Mala Spa and well being-targeted Mala Restaurant (go for the southern Thai specialties) provide simply as many opportunities to up the feel-good factor.

Baan Suay Karon Resort Phuket

Set on the tip of Cape Yamu, this wellness-focused place balances out its straight-lined design with inherently Thai touches (gorgeous Buddhist artworks amongst them) and a pinch of Mediterranean aptitude courtesy of Italian designer Paola Navone. There isn’t a direct seaside entry, however COMO’s swish beach membership, set on a semi-personal islet some 20 minutes away, more than makes up for that-as does the gorgeous 330-foot pool. Sharing the identical seashore and architect-the late Ed Tuttle-as Amanpuri subsequent door, this long-standing traditional on Phuket’s west coast has garnered a loyal following for its properly-priced rooms and excellent service. Rooms are sleek, done up in crisp whites and electric-blue hues, and have fabulous views over Phang Nga Bay. The dramatic Thai-inspired Lomtalay restaurant and sweeping granite staircases leading up to it have Tuttle’s fingerprints all over it, as does the lounger-lined hexagonal swimming pool clad in chalkboard-black anthracite. Rooms, on the contrary, are shiny and breezy affairs with palettes of white and grey warmed up with touches of gemstone-hued silk.

Among the finest-and priciest-locations to bed down in Phuket is Trisara, an ultra-luxe resort set by itself cape on the northwest facet of the island. Its 39 secluded villas are as fairly as they are spacious, designed in a trendy Thai fashion and each kitted out with ocean-view terraces, an infinity pool, and butlers on name. Trisara’s distant location means it’s far away from any tourist sights, however there’s little reason to go away: There’s a gorgeous sunbed-lined pool for lounging and laps, as well as a powdery white seashore solely friends have entry to. The Jara spa combines sensational ocean views with soothing Thai therapeutic massage treatments, and there are three wonderful eating places for palm-shaded beachfront dining, together with the Michelin-starred Pru and famous barbecues at Seafood by Trisara. The adjoining stretch of Bang Tao beach may not be essentially the most picturesque and the setting between apartment buildings not the most engaging-but none of that issues after you’ve checked in at one of Banyan Tree’s personal pool villas.